Community We Work With

The operational area of BJSA comprises dalits as its target group. These dalits are further categorised as:

Chamars

They do not have own means of livelihood and are without resources. They work as labourers. They have been enslaved since centuries. Most of them are illiterates and do not know their rights. They are seen by the society with contempt. Socially, politically, economically and culturally they occupy the lowest ladder.

Dhobis

The number of people belonging to this caste is extremely small and one or two dhobis reside in a village. Their work is to clean clothes of other castes to earn their livelihood in kind (grains). They are treated as untouchables by other castes and are not allowed even to enter into homes of other caste people.

Pasi

The people belonging to this caste live in the localities of higher castes. Their main occupation is pig rearing. They are illiterate. People from other castes do not visit their homes. Since they live closely with the higher caste people they are exploited a lot. Many of them work as watchman. They work in the homes of upper caste people during marriages.

Mehtars

The people belonging to this caste are concentrated in the residential areas of Muslims and Pathans. They are called scavengers. They mainly clean nightsoil and get cooked but often stale food in return. On the occasion of marriages the women get sarees. Women from this caste do most of the work.

Dadharikar

Their population is small and they do not live permanently at one place. Making baskets is their main occupation and so they roam around to places where bamboo is available at cheaper rates. They lack education.

Mushars

Mushars occupies the lowest place in the society. They too do not have permanent homes and live away from the villages around bushes. They have separate rituals and language. A few Mushars are employed by the higher caste people as watchman on their fields, orchards and tube wells. Most of them are, however, employed in selling wood and making leaf plates.